Goldilocks
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day two hundred and fifty-seven: Quinn has had many beds in the last few months, so much her real one feels strange.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th cycle. Now cycle 13!_

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**"Goldilocks"  
Quinn [+ Finn, Puck, Mercedes] **

The first night she spent back in her old bed, it didn't feel the way she thought it would. She thought it'd be… home. Familiarity, relief… a return to everything that was taken away from her…

It just felt… like a bed, any bed… it was a letdown, stinging her eyes. All it felt like was one more new bed. She'd had three of those already… three beds opened to her.

The first bed was in a home too sweet… as thankful as he was for it, for the gesture Finn and his mother made for her, all she could think of as she lay in that bed was how much she felt she didn't deserve it. It was all under false pretence, because they believed they were helping family… a daughter, a granddaughter. But as much as she was trapped in her mental debate, all she could think about was how she had nowhere else to go… It terrified her, she knew it. So she didn't say anything about it. She knew all of it was just borrowed time, that if the truth ever got out, then she'd have to go.

She had resisted the idea of living with Puck and his family at first. Just the thought of shuffling off to yet another home felt impossible. But then Finn had found out the truth; his mother… well she wouldn't be far behind. So with no other choice, she'd moved in with the Puckermans.

The second bed was in a home too harsh. Mrs. Puckerman was so insisting on what she could or couldn't do, Quinn felt as though she couldn't breathe or live without being told she was doing it wrong. She was sure it came from a right place, it had to, right? Still, Quinn wanted so much to tell her to slack off… She didn't know how to tell her without finding herself in search for a third home. The first two had come with regards to the exact same reasons: to look out for a daughter, a granddaughter… And there were only two that could do that.

No, actually, there were three, but she knew full well the third wouldn't happen. Her father would never allow her back under his roof… There was a loophole to that, but at the time she didn't know it could and would be used: that her father simply wouldn't be under that roof anymore.

But then it hadn't been an available solution yet, and she was left dealing with her anger, frustration, fear, sadness… all of this in a house where it seemed the universe was out to make it even worse and she felt like she'd explode. But then in came Mercedes Jones, to overthrow the universe and give her an out. She didn't hesitate this time.

The third bed was in a home neither too sweet nor too harsh. Instead, for the first time in months, she felt some kind of peace, like she could relax. It didn't change the situation she was in, but at least she could breathe. There were no expectations put upon her, and in no way did she feel dishonest. Mercedes had given her safe refuge, exactly what she had offered. To think less than a year before she wouldn't have given her the time of day… So many things had changed, and it still didn't sink in just how much until she'd really thought about it. She could never be thankful enough, so much so that a part of her didn't want to leave. She'd found something new in herself when she was there.

Now this bed… her real bed felt like a fourth bed, in a home that had once held her whole world but now seemed like a distorted memory, not real… It was her home, but really it was her home… the old Quinn Fabray, the one who would rather have seen someone to mock in a girl like Mercedes Jones, instead of a kind and caring friend who'd have her back when she needed her.

Maybe the thing was also that for the first time in a while, she didn't have the baby to worry about… Only she still did, whether she wanted it or not. She knew she'd be alright with Shelby Corcoran, but she still wondered… maternal instincts, maybe…

She'd reacclimate to this place, she was confident. It wouldn't be the old Fabray house, this much both she and her mother would make sure of. They had spent too much time making do with what they had to, because of her father. They both needed a new life, a permanent one. They were finally getting what they had hoped for, and there was no way they wouldn't make sure they kept it and let it grow.

THE END


End file.
